Grants of up to $1,000 to San Diego, California member individuals and artists working for nonprofit arts and culture organizations for professional development activities. Funding is intended for either a facilitated learning experience or an organizational leadership project.

Facilitated Learning Experiences: These experiences consist of learning and professional development opportunities that typically occur outside the organization, during the employee’s work day or on her/his own time. Eligible expenditures include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Tuition and fees for classes, workshops or conferences
- Fees for training programs, mentors or coaches
- Registration for webinars or other online seminars
- Travel and lodging, if the workshop or conference is located outside San Diego County
- Annual membership dues for professional associations or networking groups
- Required books, supplies or materials for eligible classes, workshops or conferences

Facilitated Learning Experience Example: An emerging museum development professional seeks career advancement and uses the funds to pay for a grant-writing training program.

Organizational Leadership Projects: These opportunities for leadership and professional development are innovative projects conceived and initiated by the emerging leader to be implemented within the organization. These projects should not only provide an opportunity for the employee to practice leadership skills, but also make a meaningful contribution to her/his organization. She/he will take the lead on the project, develop a preliminary plan, gain approval from the supervisor, facilitate the RALSD Quick Grant proposal and, upon approval of funding, carry the project through to completion. These short-term, small-scale projects should be practical and realistic, given the time and funding available. The project may involve other staff members.

Eligible expenditures include, but are not limited to, the following, when necessary to implement the project:

Organizational Leadership Project Example: An arts administrator initiates an opportunity for their theater company to collaborate with a local environmental non-profit organization to reduce their environmental impact per production. The two organizations exchange ideas about how improve their practices and create a set of green benchmarks and the grant funding is used to purchase sustainable lighting solutions and continue annual environmental assessments with local partners.

Number of Grants:

Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego provides a limited number of competitive professional development grants.

Estimated Size of Grant:

Grants are up to $1,000 each.

Term of Contract:

All grant expenditures must be incurred between September 1, 2017 and August 1, 2018.

- Applicants must be full-time, part-time or working on a contract for services basis for a nonprofit arts and/or cultural organization.
- Applicants must be a member of Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego. For membership information, go to http://www.risingartsleadersofsandiego.org/members/new
- Organizations must be based and providing services in San Diego County with a 501(c)3 IRS tax-exempt status.
- If an emerging leader received a 2016 RALSD Quick Grant, she/he is not eligible to apply for the 2017 RALSD Quick Grant.

Applications are due by midnight on August 7. Applicants will be notified of the status of their applications by September 1, 2017 and grant checks and agreements will be disbursed by October 1, 2017. Awardees will be honored at Creative Conversations in October 2017.

Each emerging leader interested in a RALSD Quick Grant must submit her/his own proposal. Organizations are not limited in the number of applications/employees that may apply at one time, but please note that an organization is only eligible to receive a maximum grant of $1,000 in a given grant cycle.

Applicants who are active RALSD members (attend RALSD events and/or serve on a subcommittee) will be given priority for funding.